1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Internet search techniques, and more particularly, to a system and method for automatically initiating an Internet-based search from within a document displayed by a document viewer.
2. Identification of Copyright
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
3. Relevant Technologyy
The World Wide Web (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d) is a collection of servers within the Internet from which specially formatted documents may be retrieved by means of a Web browser. Typically, Web documents are formatted in the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), which supports hyperlinks between and within documents, as well as a variety of multimedia elements, including graphics, audio and video.
A Web browser is a client application that allows a user to selectively retrieve and display HTML documents, as well as to selectively follow hyperlinks. Currently, two of the most popular Web browsers are Netscape Navigator(trademark) and Microsoft Internet Explorer(trademark).
A hyperlink is an element within an HTML document that directs the Web browser to another place in the same document, or to an entirely different document, when the hyperlink is followed. Hyperlinks may be attached to words, phrases, icons, and other objects displayed within the document. Typically, a user may follow a hyperlink by xe2x80x9cclickingxe2x80x9d on the hyperlink with a pointing device, such as a mouse. Hyperlinks are an essential part of any hypertext system, of which the Web is the most prominent example.
Documents are identified within the Web by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), also commonly referred to as a Web address. A URL identifies the domain name or Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Web server containing the document, as well as the location of the document within the server.
In recent years, the Web has grown to include millions of individual Web documents relating to an almost limitless variety of subjects. One challenge has been to provide a means for users to locate documents within the ever expanding Web.
A search engine is a computer program that searches a database for documents that include user-supplied keywords and returns the locations within the database at which matching documents may be found. In the context of the Internet, a search engine may scan an index of Web documents for user-supplied keywords and return the URL of each matching Web document.
Internet search engines generally provide an HTML interface for receiving keywords from a user and displaying search results. A variety of Internet search engines are currently available, including Altavista(trademark), Excite(trademark), HotBot(trademark), Lycos(trademark), Infoseek(trademark), and others.
Recently, Internet search engines have been developed to search different kinds of databases, such as legal databases (Westlaw(trademark), Lexis(trademark), IBM Intellectual Property Network(trademark)), news and reference databases (Deja(trademark), Webopedia(trademark)), retail databases (Amazon(trademark)), and the like.
Often, while reading a Web document, a user identifies a word or phrase for which the user would like additional information. Ideally, the designer of the Web document anticipated the user""s interest and included a hyperlink to a list of Web documents related to the word or phrase.
Realistically, however, such a hyperlink is not included. As a result, the user may choose to employ one of the above-described search engines to generate such a list of related Web documents. To do so, however, the user must manually direct a Web browser to the search engine, type the desired word or phrase, and manually initiate the search by clicking on a xe2x80x9cSearchxe2x80x9d button or the like.
Unfortunately, many users find the above-described process too time-consuming or complicated for casually looking up words and phrases of interest. Moreover, if the same Web browser performs the search as was used to display the document including the desired word or phrase, the user""s visual and mental context is lost each time the search engine interface replaces the Web document in the browser. To return to the original Web document and restore the user""s context, the user must typically click on a xe2x80x9cBackxe2x80x9d button, or the like, introducing yet another step into the process. Moreover, it is frequently impossible to restore the user""s context to the state in which it existed before the search was performed.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for automatically initiating an Internet-based search from within a document displayed by a document viewer, such as a Web browser or the like. What is also needed is a system and method for maintaining the user""s visual and mental context while performing an Internet-based search.
The present invention solves many or all of the foregoing problems by introducing a system and method by a which a user can automatically initiate an Internet-based search from within a document displayed by a document viewer, while maintaining the user""s visual and mental context throughout the search.
In one aspect of the invention, a system includes a search term designation module adapted to receive a user designation of at least one word of the document; a search engine access module for automatically accessing a search engine; a search engine interfacing module adapted to automatically provide the search engine with the at least one designated word; and a search initiation module adapted to automatically direct the search engine to perform the Internet-based search using the at least one designated word as a search term.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for automatically initiating an Internet-based search from within a document displayed by a document viewer includes the steps of receiving a user designation of at least one word of the document; automatically accessing a search engine; automatically providing the search engine with the at least one selected word; and automatically directing the search engine to initiate the Internet-based search using the at least one selected word as a search term.
In yet another aspect of the invention, an article of manufacture comprises a program storage medium readable by a processor and embodying one or more instructions executable by the processor to perform the above-described method for automatically initiating an Internet-based search from within a document displayed by a document viewer.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.